Arcadia – Election Day
From a musical perspective, particularly concerning European pop music, the 1980s can be distinctly divided into two parts by a pivotal event. The Live Aid concert, held over the weekend of 13th and 14th July 1985 at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, marked a significant transition between two very different eras. This event symbolized the conclusion of one period for many artists and heralded a new wave of popularity for others.
For Europe, it marked the end of the golden era of Duran Duran, who were iconic figures of the early 1980s. Following the tremendous success of their album Rio, the Birmingham band found themselves in a demanding cycle of constant global tours and ongoing efforts to produce new hits. After releasing Seven and The Ragged Tiger, they managed to issue only two more historically significant singles before deciding to disband.
The release of The Wild Boys in October 1984 served as a pivotal moment for the music group. A verse within the song vividly depicts the pressures of their forced pursuit of success, signaling a shift in dynamics among the members.
In May 1985, the group collaborated to record and produce the video for A View to a Kill, the theme song for the final James Bond film featuring Sir Roger Moore. Two months later, Duran Duran made their final joint appearance at Live Aid. This performance took place not in London, but in Philadelphia, possibly indicating a complete loss of control over their engagements or an attempt to find rejuvenation through escape.
The stage at Live Aid proved to be unforgiving. While their performance, which included Union of The Snake, Save a Prayer, and The Reflex, was well received, it became clear that the dynamics within the group had shifted significantly. Guitarist Andy Taylor, who hails from Newcastle, had already decided to leave the band. He had commenced performing with his newly formed supergroup, The Power Station, alongside Tony Thompson of Chic and the esteemed Robert Palmer. Bassist John Taylor was also set to join this new venture.
It was evident that no member desired to sustain their success in its current form. Consequently, Live Aid marked the conclusion of the initial phase of the career of what was once the world’s most renowned pop group. Subsequently, frontman Simon Le Bon, keyboardist and “controller” Nick Rhodes, and drummer Roger Taylor went on to establish a new group called Arcadia.
The group’s name was inspired by a series of paintings by seventeenth-century French painter Nicholas Poussin. In particular, one of his paintings exhibited at the Louvre depicts young shepherds in front of a tomb with the inscription “Et in Arcadia ego”. The term Arcadia referred to the imaginary place where the poet Virgil set the rural stories in the Bucolics. The tomb’s inscription seems to tell the shepherds “I too was like you”, likely advising them to value their time, age, and life.
The Arcadia project resulted in the creation of an album, So Red the Rose, which was released in November, preceded by a single intended to boost sales. This project involved significant collaborations with artists such as Sting, David Gilmour, and Herbie Hancock.
On October 14, 1985, Arcadia’s first single, Election Day, was released, presenting a new image of the three former members of Duran Duran to the music world.
The atmosphere presented is both mysterious and intriguing. Some describe it as esoteric, as the combination of images, sounds, and lyrics suggests the group’s affinity for a modern reinterpretation of the new-romantic concept, which they hold dear. Although their hair color has darkened, their attire remains sophisticated and refined, arguably more elegant than in previous videos. Notably, certain details seem reminiscent of the style seen in Planet Earth and the gothic, smoky atmospheres characteristic of Fade to Grey which are hallmarks of groups like Visage, Ultravox, and others.
The lyrics are considered a masterpiece of abstract artistry. Featuring highly sophisticated words and combinations, Simon Le Bon has consistently demonstrated his prowess in this area. While the lyrics may appear complex and challenging to decode, they remain captivating in individual verses. It is important to note that Simon Le Bon has always prioritized lyrical aesthetics over concrete meaning, allowing each listener’s imagination to derive personal interpretations.
Election Day includes a special feature by Grace Jones, who delivers the final verse with her distinctive and commanding voice. Grace Jones first met Duran Duran on the set of the film A View to a Kill where she portrayed the character May Day. This encounter fostered a strong rapport between her and the band.
When Simon Le Bon presented Grace Jones with the lyrics of the verse she was supposed to sing, she asked loudly about the meaning of those words. However, Grace Jones eventually accepted Simon Le Bon’s lyrics without further explanation.
The video for Election Day remains memorable for fans and had a considerable budget. Initially, Ridley Scott was intended to direct the video, but he could not participate due to other commitments. As a result, Arcadia had to do without the director of Alien, Blade Runner and The Gladiator, and worked with Roger Christian, a collaborator recommended by Scott, who had worked with him on Alien and had been awarded for the sets of Star Wars.
The film was shot in Paris and inspired by the 1946 film Beauty and the Beast. The setting resembles a club or a decadent villa, somewhat evocative of the houses in Gotham City. This environment features various rooms with elegant women consulting mysterious runes, others playing dice, couples dancing with different attitudes, and other intentional references.
For instance, an artist paints a mural, covering Nick Rhodes’ hand wrapped in a glove. This is not just a random actor, but Tony Viramontes, the author of the entire graphic concept for the cover and the Arcadia project, who is also a set designer and fashion illustrator.
A notable moment involves an elderly gentleman who peeks from behind a corner while Nick Rhodes slowly descends a staircase over the duration it takes Simon to sing a full verse. This gentleman is the English writer William S. Burroughs, identifiable by his distinctive style and hat. Arcadia, or more accurately Duran Duran, owed a debt of gratitude to him.
Burroughs was the author of the novel The Wild Boys, published in 1971, which director Russell Mulcahy endeavored for years to adapt into a film. Ultimately, this novel served as inspiration for the song that became emblematic of the 80s in Europe and for its memorable video.
In some interviews, Nick Rhodes mentioned that top model Linda Evangelista participated in the video, playing one of the beautiful women who animate the set. There is also a somewhat self-referential nod to her own past.
Towards the end of the video, we see an enormous shadow resembling a minotaur or, more accurately, a man with the head of a horse. Arcadia noted that this was a reference to a scene from Jean Cocteau’s 1959 film The Testament of Orpheus. This imagery also evokes a scene from one of Duran Duran’s early videos, Girls on Film, where a similar scenario involving a black horse’s head was portrayed, echoing both Cocteau’s film and the aforementioned reference.
Finally, it is important to note that Arcadia also created a secret code consisting of pairs of numbers that appear in various scenes of the video, such as on the walls behind Simon Le Bon. This was not random; the key to deciphering the code was on the album cover, where the title Election Day appeared both in clear text and in code.
By assigning the letter T the value of 02 and proceeding two by two (where U was 04) and starting again from A after Z, values were assigned to each letter. This method allowed the deciphering of some enigmatic writings on the album cover, including the long and curved sequence of numbers in the foreground, which ultimately translated to “Taylor – Rhodes – Le Bon”.
In essence, Election Day marked the beginning of the second phase in the history of this iconic group, particularly for Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, and Roger Taylor. The entire album was well-received and noted for its high quality. The song Election Day elevated Arcadia to the top of many European charts, remaining at the top in Italy for about ten weeks, suggesting a promising future for the band.
However, the Arcadia project, like The Power Station project, was intended to be short-lived, concluding after one album. Following this, Duran Duran reformed with other changes; while John Taylor returned to the group, Roger Taylor took an extended break from the music industry.
Despite its brief existence, the Arcadia project is still regarded, even after many years, as an endeavor of great quality, beginning with the gothic and new wave atmosphere of the track Election Day, a song that remains timeless despite its title having no literal connection to elections.
Arcadia on Wikipedia
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